Bayside’s Friends Forever
Band’s partnership with the Status isn’t just based on business

Review By Andy Argyrakis

Even with four full-fledged studio albums (including the recently released Shudder), sold-out club shows from coast to coast and being one of Victory Records’ most lauded alt-rock acts, the guys in Bayside remain remarkably down to earth and approachable. The foursome continues to operate its own MySpace page, and front man Anthony Raneri also actually listens to each and every demo CD or listening link that gets sent his way. He also regularly scours the Internet in hopes of discovering new talent, which led to immediate interest in Atlanta’s the Status and prompted an offer to tag team together in the studio.
           
“So many bands don’t do their own MySpace, so my first thought was this most likely wasn’t Anthony contacting us,” admits The Status’ front man Ben Grant. “So we were a little confused but still excited about the possibility of working together and started messaging back and fourth.”
           
Raneri laughs at the prospect of an online imposter and was quick to prove he was the real deal by dueting with the Status on the title track from its Doghouse Records’ debut So This Is Progress and eventually becoming the group’s full-fledged manager. Though he’d never go as far as starting a label, the front man is always casually looking for additional acts to add to his roster, but spends the bulk of his time devising ways the bands can tag team. Outside of sharing contacts and offering advice about everything from traveling to finding time to relax on tour, Bayside’s also bringing the Status along on this fall’s Involuntary Movement Tour.
           
“When we do a headline tour, the main thing we want fans to go home with is not just that Bayside was great, but that they had a great night all together,” he says of a bill that also includes The Matches and Valencia. “We want to be known for taking out bands the fans will like and give those bands a chance to win people over who might not be familiar with them yet.”
           
As for the show itself, Bayside’s headlining set will be split evenly between all four CDs, though Shudder will score some extra emphasis. Alongside producer Dave Schiffman (Weezer, Jimmy Eat World, Johnny Cash), the group’s crafted an impressive merger of straight up alternative, punk, modern and indie rock, wrapped around insightful lyrics that find the guys’ maturing in their perspectives about conquering obstacles.
           
“The kind of plan we had making this record was to simply not have a plan,” Raneri relates. “We keep going into every record forgetting who we are, forgetting the fact that we’re in fancier studios, forgetting the fact we have more time and forgetting that there are more fans. We keep the same attitude as the first record and get right to the point. We don’t over think the songs and we don’t add full orchestras or other crazy things [we can’t reproduce live]. It’s all about growing as people and stepping up as songwriters. The theme is always overcoming the odds and being who you want to be.”
           
The Status’ set is obviously much shorter, but members plan to pound out as many tunes from So This Is Progress as possible and hang out long after the show is over to meet their listeners one on one. “When we started thinking about titles for the album, we felt we had to tie in the word ‘progress’ somewhere,” Grant contends. “I know that sounds ironic being our first record, but we’ve been touring for the two years leading up to this and it all really boils down to fighting every day and making progress everyday.” 
           
As for the business partnership between Raneri and Grant’s bands, it continues to be based on building momentum one moment at a time. Traveling together certainly allows for extra time to talk shop backstage or on each others buses, but Raneri admits to being a workaholic who’ll still stay on top of the logistics even as the bands embark on separate touring routes.